Submitted by ruthseymour on Tue, 06/08/2010 – 5:56pm
Session Convenor:
Ruth Seymour, Assistant Professor
of Journalism, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan
Session Reporter:
Ruth Seymour and Davar Ardalan
Discussion Participants:
Kat Aaron, Davar Iran Ardalan, Sonya Bernard-Hollins, Sue Ellen Christian,
Ryan O’Toole, Matthew Renner, Joe Grimm, Peggy Holman, Melissa Cornick, Linda Jue, Beth Mastin, Marin Heinritz, Keith Woods
This summary is a compilation of participant comments on seven themes that emerged during our time together. All comments (with direct quotes in italics) are attributed.
Great morsels for writing, thinking or renewing.
Fair warning: Topic #1, “The Gifting Economy,” is as long as the next six topics, combined.
SUMMARY SECTIONS:
- The “Gifting Economy”
- Evolution of the Web: Individual Freedom of Expression or Rampant Egocentrism?
- Our Choice, to See “Scarcity” or “Abundance”
- News as Social Capital
- Survival of Democracy
- Community Feedback Joins the News Cycle
- “Transparency” vs. “Neutrality/Objectivity”
Topic 1. “The Gifting Economy”
How would a “Gifting Economy” look in practice?
*Contrast with “old system”
The “traditional mode” of newsgathering is to extract information of value from the community and sell it.
“When, around them, everything is collapsing — it may not be new that people are giving…“
Keith Woods, Vice President for Diversity in News and Operations, National Public Radio
*Reporting Practices
While reporting a piece on the rape of a cheerleader, Melissa created times in the process to help sources heal and survive. Example: Staying late at work to call and create private time with the convicted student’s family. Working with prison to have him removed from the general population, for his own safety, when the story was to air.
“(It is about) making what we do, a gift. Seeing it as a gift… Intentionally moving out of reporter’s role as someone objective/removed from the story.”
Melissa Cornick, Executive Director, OneifByLand Productions, Bucks County, Penn.
*Organizational Structures (Newsroom/News Sites) in a Gifting Economy
“Click” to Donate. Question the idea that money made is only for the journalists and techies. The organization can make a direct payoff to the community in return for information given– something more tangible than just “objective coverage.” And it doesn’t have to be out-of-pocket. Example: On a news site, when covering an issue (especially in underserved communities) create a path for reader $$ donations. Like a “Click to Donate” button for community libraries or schools. Websites already link readers (as potential consumers) to sites that sell items described in news coverage (e.g. to an Amazon page, as part of a published book review).
“Why not display widgets to support organizations that help?”
Davar Iran Ardalan, Independent journalist, Severna Park, Maryland
Foundation Support. Money from foundations can be channeled to help communities start their own storytelling (define it, tell it, use content). The journalist-facilitator, ultimately, can learn to channel the funds to a group and then just step back. Example: In Chicago, three Latino groups produced radio content (radioarte); a network (Latinos progresando); a Mexican Museum of Fine Arts; and an opportunity for Latino kids to produce telenovelas in Spanish, English and Spanglish. Interesting cross-access evolved since many people who spoke either English or Spanish found they could understand the Spanglish versions.
Beth Mastin, New Routes to Community Health, Madison, Wisconsin
Hot Mash and Splash Pages exist explicitly to openly share software with other people. “Between “open software” and (private) software development, guess which is doing better?” (Open.)
Ryan O’Toole, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Crowd Sourcing/Funding. Community identifies and helps to investigate problem (e.g. a contaminated well).
Davar Iran Ardalan, Independent journalist, Severna Park, Maryland
Potential challenge: What if the community ultimately doesn’t like the information/report produced?
Sue Ellen Christian, Associate Professor of Journalism, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
*Societal Changes (in a Gifting Economy)
Public Wireless. Why should every resident of an apartment building be forced to pay $60/month for wireless access once one resident owns a router? Ryan opens his wireless access for public use.
Ryan O’Toole, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Wikipedia (!)
Ryan O’Toole, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts
A government role? There is such push against “taxes” in American politics, but some funding would make “public internet” possible.
Sue Ellen Christian, Associate Professor of Journalism, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Native American models. If there is a shortage of kerosene, and someone gets hold of a gallon, everyone shares it. It is expected.
Melissa Cornick, Executive Director, OneifByLand Productions, Bucks County, Penn.
Topic 2. Evolution of the Web: Individual Freedom of Expression or Rampant Egocentrism?
Are we promoting an egocentric mass media? Do all of the tweets and solo blogs contribute anything to the greater good?
Keith Woods, Vice President for Diversity in News and Operations, National Public Radio
The current era of people reporting on their daily lives and giving it to everyone doesn’t have to be seen as “egocentric.” Yes, everything gets cluttered. Yes, bloggers talk about themselves a lot. But it is still contact-generation.
“I don’t see it as a less-generous mode.”
Matthew Renner, editor and Washington, D.C. reporter for TruthOut.org, Brooklyn, New York
Topic 3. Our Choice: Perceive “Scarcity” or “Abundance”
Journalism institutions (newsrooms) are experiencing an economy of scarcity. But in that same moment, we live in a time where we have more abundant access to news and information, as well as more voices, than ever before. There are many more avenues, of all sorts, for getting information that you need. Example: Googling, rather than simply accepting what a doctor tells you.
Kat Aaron, Washington, D.C.
Ruth Seymour, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan
“I’ve accessed so much information via blogs and Internet that I would have never had access to, before.”
Ryan O’Toole, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Topic 4. News as Social Capital
The community replaces advertisers for cash flow.
Kat Aaron, Washington, D.C.
The NPR model – attracting subscribers /pledgers — is good example of social capital value.
Ryan O’Toole, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusett
NPR 2010: Donations declined in recent years — but audience is growing. So the donations dip seems to be a function of a weak national economy rather than a weak national appetite for news. And the small stations are doing well in their fundraising drives.
“One real truth of the model is that a lot of people are riding on the backs of a very few (those who pledge donations). And so we have to ask, are they just freeloaders? Or is it a case of, ‘OK, I’ll donate money somewhere else since you have already donated here (to public radio)?”
Keith Woods, Vice President for Diversity in News and Operations, National Public Radio
“People say (of online news), ‘I’m not paying for that.’ So we have to find a way that they don’t have to.”
Melissa Cornick, executive director, OneifByLand Productions, Bucks County, Penn.
We (consumers) make selfish choices. I listen to NPR because it’s a better product; I don’t read a local paper, because it’s crap. We (news organizations) hurt ourselves by shrinking staffs and doing fluff. Content creates value.
“I recently sent a student to cover a city council meeting, and she came back and told me that no one was there except for she and the city council. But that (the fact that even a student reporter was there) is valuable.”
Joe Grimm, Visiting Editor in Residence, School of Journalism, Michigan State University
“You have to let people be themselves. That means streaming video instead of soundbytes… You have to let people have their own voice. You are no longer in charge.”
Melissa Cornick, executive director, OneifByLand Productions, Bucks County, Penn.
On a community oral history project incubated by NPR: The citizens got funding, and people went and recorded (memories from) their grandfathers, and uploaded them.
“I was listening to sound quality; I’ve got six minutes for this story. But they were wedded to the ikea of making sure that Joe–, an important community elder, had a prominent place in the broadcast. It turned out that the tape of him was of poor quality. We had to work all of that out.”
Davar Iran Ardalan, Independent journalist, Severna Park, Maryland
Topic 5. Survival of Democracy
Many journalism students make no connection between “journalism” and “democracy.” We always blame this on the students; but, apparently: “Old news media” must not have done its job.
Peggy Holman, Journalism that Matters, Bellevue, Washington
“Public access to internet is also a democratic value, and no one states it.”
Keith Woods, Vice President for Diversity in News and Operations, National Public Radio
“It is difficult for journalists to engage in conversations about their own needs for infrastructure in publishing. They are reluctant to get involved in advocacy, even if it is for tools we need.”
Kat Aaron, Washington, D.C.
Topic 6. Community feedback joins the news cycle
Q: So, with all of these openings for online reader analysis and reaction, is there a tighter relationship between newsrooms and their audience?
Ryan O’Toole, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Is reader feedback a relationship? No, just more eyeballs. The bloggers who “make it” are not “the best.” (They are just the ones who get the most hits.) So, the paradigm hasn’t changed.
Linda Jue, Director/Exec. Editor, G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism/Northern California Society of Professional Journalists, San Francisco
Readers used to be able to phone reporter, or phone the newspaper ombudsmen. You can’t get through to them now.
“The news model of “relating to community” has been broken for a long time. Today, you essentially have professionals writing for professionals.”
Joe Grimm, Visiting Editor in Residence, School of Journalism, Michigan State University
Topic 7. “Transparency” vs. “Neutrality” (formerly “Objectivity”)
“Today, there is enormous content around political thought that is not produced by journalists but is consumed by people who think it is (e.g. talking-head news discussions).”
Beth Mastin, New Routes to Community Health, Madison, Wisconsin
“We are creating a landscape of ‘opinion journalism.’ Hence, we are not just talking here about ‘saving our (newsroom) jobs.’ We are talking about saving democracy.”
Linda Jue, Director/Exec. Editor, G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism/Northern California Society of Professional Journalists, San Francisco
“I also do work in immigration issues. There are sites, places to go to, that have no journalistic vetting, that are misrepresenting themselves. Like one anti-immigration site called FAIR.”
Beth Mastin, New Routes to Community Health, Madison, Wisconsin
“So (as a news consumer), I believe you because you believe as I do, not because you are objective.”
Joe Grimm, Visiting Editor in Residence, School of Journalism, Michigan State University
The zeitgeist around “how journalism is defined” these days is ironic. Journalists have been mouthpieces for the status quo for decades.
Ryan O’Toole, MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts
“We are all referring more to ‘transparency’ these days – even Barack Obama. Maybe we should be calling for heightened ‘transparency’ by those handling news, rather than trying to enforce standards of neutrality or “objectivity.”
Ruth Seymour, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan